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App of the month: Apogee MetaRecorder for iOS

This month, we’ve been looking at MetaRecorder, Apogee’s new field recording app for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch (and Apple Watch too). With high quality audio recording, comprehensive metadata and Final Cut Pro X integration, find out why we think this is going to be one to interest pros as well as consumers…

What is Apogee MetaRecorder?

Years ago there was a piece of software called MetaCorder, developed by Gallery. New app MetaRecorder is very similar, but developed for iOS and now with the Apogee name on it. Apogee are hailing it as the “first two-channel audio recording app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch to offer intuitive multi-take recording, tagging and file organisation for any field recording scenario”.

How does it work?

First of all, connect a microphone, audio interface or use the built-in microphone on your iOS device to record mono or stereo audio up to 96kHz/24-bit resolution. MetaRecorder then lets you add keywords, markers and notes, designate ‘favourite’ takes and customise auto file naming for a unique, informative and easily searchable name. Once you’re done, save your session as an FCPXML file from the app. When opened in Final Cut Pro, metadata entered in the field makes searching and organising your media fast and effortless.

Who is it for?

While Apogee are positioning this as a simple high-quality setup to record podcasts, presentations, news reports, interviews or meetings, as well as a consumer app for recording school plays, wedding speeches and the like, we can also see it being used in more professional applications. The FCP X workflow is certainly very interesting for audio post.

MetaRecorder lets you apply metadata tags like keywords, favourites, markers and more to your audio files while recording in the field, then share the recorded audio and Final Cut Pro XML files directly to Dropbox. Once you’ve imported it into Final Cut Pro on a Mac, the captured metadata gives you a much simpler way of organising and parsing your media, substantially accelerating your post-production workflow.

What’s the best feature?

OK, we’re going out on a limb here to suggest a feature that we may not have yet actually used, but can see being very useful – Apogee have already developed an Apple Watch version of MetaRecorder, enabling you to have a remote control for the iPhone or iPad app. Essential features that can be controlled from Apple Watch include start and stop recording, adding a take to favourites, adding markers and setting your microphone input level. Now, just wake us up when our Apple Watch delivery gets here, will you?

How much and where can I get it?

Apogee MetaRecorder (Apogee Electronics Corp, free) is free to download from the App Store on your iPad or iTunes. Just a word of warning – the free version of MetaRecorder does limit you to just 60 seconds’ continuous recording time. For a limited time, if you have a compatible Sennheiser or Apogee device, you can unlock unlimited continuous recording for free by connecting to MetaRecorder (check iTunes for a full list of compatible devices), or purchase the full version in the app to unlock the recording time restriction.